No Checks, Please: IRS No Longer Takes Checks Over $100M

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you owe the tax man more than $100 million, your check is no good at the IRS.

Starting next year, the IRS says it will reject all checks for more than $99,999,999. That's because check-processing equipment at the nation's Federal Reserve banks can't handle checks that big. The Treasury Department says checks of $100 million or more have to be processed by hand, increasing the risk of theft, fraud and errors.

As a result, the richest among us will have to wire their tax payments electronically. Or write multiple checks for less than $100 million apiece. Some see irony in a deficit-riddled government rejecting large sums of money. But the Federal Reserve says most commercial banks can't process checks with amounts that stretch more than 10 digits, including cents.